RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The pandemic fueled the growth of digital platforms that offer quick and necessary solutions in the midst of the crisis. With the increased supply of venture capital for entrepreneurs in recent years has come a flood of unicorn startups that quickly scale to over US$1 billion.
According to the most recent CB Insights ranking of the world’s most valued startups, at the beginning of April this year, 650 companies were added to the list of unicorns, with the presence of a “decacorn”, valued at more than US$10 billion and a “hectocorn” of more than US$100 billion.
The list, which is headed by ByTendance, the Chinese artificial intelligence company worth more than US$140 billion and parent company of the digital platform TikTok, revealed that the unicorns currently in existence have a combined valuation of US$220 billion and highlighted the presence of 15 new startups located in Latin America, 11 of which were founded in Brazil.
The first in the region to appear in the list is the Brazilian digital bank NuBank, which ranked 11th in the world with a valuation of US$25 billion, which was announced after the Series G investment round of 400 million dollars led by GIC, Whale Rock and Invesco.
According to neo Banco’s management, “Nubank challenges complexity and reinvents traditional financial services to give full control of their money back to Latin Americans and empower them”.
The Brazilian startup also stated that its success over the years had been the result of its obsession for its customers to awaken a fanatical love for the company, and its customers have recognized this.
Currently, NuBank has the highest customer satisfaction indicators (NPS) not only in the banking industry in the world, but higher than major brands such as Apple or Amazon.
Brazil’s Real Estate startup Loft jumped into second place a few days ago, relegating longtime placeholder Rappi of Colombia to third. The Colombian delivery and logistics company reached position number 111 with a valuation of US$4 billion and one of the highest growth projections in the region, recognized by international experts.
According to Matias Laks, general manager of Rappi in Colombia, “from day one, Rappi has been concerned about creating solutions that make life easier for everyone, both users and partners. The step we are taking today responds to continue seeking solutions for all Colombians hand in hand with strategic allies and innovation”.
In addition to these three Latin American unicorns that lead the list, there are also 13 others, where Brazilian startups shone, including WildLife Studios, with US$3 billion, in the 142nd position; C6 Bank, which reached number 207 with US$2 billion, and Creditas, which closes the top five Latin American startups in 259th place, with a valuation of close to US$2 billion.
Finally, Colombia also had another representative on the list. LifeMiles, which reached US$1 billion, ranked 413th and accompanied the Mexican company unicorn in 415th place with a valuation equal to that of the Colombian company.
New merger would change the list of companies
The Indonesian unicorns Gojek and Tokopedia are merging into GoTo. The company will consist of Gojek’s ride-sharing operations, Tokopedia’s e-commerce business, and a designated financial technology unit. The combined valuations of Gojek and Tokopedia on CB Insights would make GoTo the 12th most valued startup in the world, valued at US$17 billion and would enter into competition with the world’s top 20 unicorns, which consisted mainly of Chinese and U.S. companies, as well as Sweden’s Klarna and Brazil’s Nubank.
List of Latin American Unicorns
1. NuBank (Brazil)
2. Loft (Brazil)
3. Rappi (Colombia)
4. Wildlife Studios (Brazil)
5. dLocal (Uruguay)
6. LifeMiles (Colombia)
7. Kavak (Mexico)
8. iFood (Brazil)
9. Loggi (Brazil)
10. QuintoAndar (Brazil)
11. Creditas (Brazil)
12. GymPass (Brazil)
13. Ebanx (Brazil
14. MadeiraMadeira (Brazil)
15. Autho (Argentina)
With information from El Economista